On the Heels of Evil

by D. E. Daum

  SUSPECTED PLANNED TERRORIST ATTACKS

  LOCATION DATE WHAT WHERE WHO

  Tel Aviv Unk Radioactive Bomb Harbor Jhalid Abanay

  London Unk Bomb ? Parliament Unk

  New York Unk Chemicals ? Subway ? Unk

  Rome Unk Radioactive Bomb Vatican Unk

  Paris Unk Private Plane Eiffel Tower Unk

  Saudi Arabia Unk Unk Oil Terminal Unk

  Tokyo 6-20 Assasination/Unk G/8 Summit Hamid Hasan

  Baghdad Unk Bomb Parliament Unk

  USA Unk Nuclear Bomb Unk Unk

  Jane stated, “As you can see, there are nine planned terrorist attacks, of which we know few details. Three of the targets involve us, a fourth if you include Baghdad. We have or will notify the other affected countries to give them as much information as we have, except for the source. All of these attacks, individually would be crippling, but perhaps the most devastating, outside of the nuclear attack, would be the G/8 Summit in Tokyo. If they were to pull that off, that would destabilize the world economy.”

  “Excuse me,” interrupted Bingham, “It seems the only thing we have any control over is the G/8 meeting so, if this is so destabilizing, why not just cancel or postpone it?”

  “We thought of that and we may if we are no closer to learning the nuts and bolts of their operation as we near target date. We decided that to arbitrarily cancel the summit would alert our enemy that we have advanced information. If we’re going to crack these cases, we cannot arouse suspicion. We don’t want to back the terrorists off. We want this scum dead or in jail. Any other questions?”

  Kelly held up his hand and said, “I do.”

  “Yes, Saleem?

  “I suppose the obvious question is where the ninth attack came from? There were only eight on the DVD. I have another question first. How did you move all this equipment and material in here without arousing suspicion? Aren’t the comings and goings of so many people apt to arouse suspicions too?”

  “I’ll answer your last question first. Evans and I are posing as a couple and the occupants of this house. We have two vehicles. Evans drives a van, and can hold up to eight people comfortably without being detected and I drive a standard size station wagon with all but the windshield heavily tinted. A couple, you and I say, could get in the back seat and make madly passionate love and no one outside would know it, except from the rocking motion of the vehicle.”

  Kelly felt a flush as everyone chuckled. Jane continued, “Next, how we all got in here undetected. We didn’t. We had a moving van pull right up to the garage in the alley and bring everything in during broad daylight. I always say if you can’t hide it, flaunt it. Of course, all of our equipment was in boxes marked kitchen, linen or whatever, or it was disguised to appear to be something else. We did manage to get most of the neighbors out of the neighborhood though, by offering a free steak dinner at a mock political rally for a local alderman. Of the closest dozen neighbors, all but two attended. One family was on vacation and of course the couple directly across the street was shacked up at a local hotel.”

  Everyone laughed.

  She’d managed to lighten the heavy mood, and now everyone was ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. Jane continued again, “Now, to your original question—the ninth and potentially the most catastrophic item on the list. Saleem, after we swapped computers, Jimmy had a field day going through it. There were a couple of e-mails from someone going by the name of Costa. They indicated a planned nuclear attack, which was not on your DVD. It seemed to describe a nuclear event in a major U.S. city with an estimated mortality rate of one hundred thousand and an injury rate of up to two million. Based on those numbers, we have narrowed down the planned target to one of six metropolitan areas. Los Angeles is deemed the most likely. Others are New York, a favorite target of the terrorists but discounted because of the other planned attack on New York, Chicago, our choice for second most likely, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Houston.”

  Kelly interrupted, “What about DC and the Bay Area?”

  “We know they like our capital, but based upon the assumed casualty numbers, D.C. doesn’t fit. The San Francisco area doesn’t fit either because it’s too spread out to provide that number of dead and wounded.”

  “Yes, but what if they’re taking into consideration residual radiation in their estimate?” Colonel Dickens asked. “That would bring a half dozen more metro areas into the scenario.”

  Jane responded, “True, we don’t know that, but Albrev thinks the terrorists are looking for immediate, not long-term impact. Even though we’re discounting the Bay area, D.C., Dallas/Fort Worth, Phoenix, Boston, and the like, we cannot rule them out.”

  “What about Las Vegas?” asked Kelly, “Islamic fundamentalists point to Sin City as the epitome of the gluttonous western excess, akin to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

  “That would be a good presumption, but Las Vegas doesn’t quite have two million people total, and the bomb blast would not be likely to kill or wound them all,” said Jane.

  Just then, Rayya walked in. Jane gave her the printout that everyone else had read and brushed her up to speed. She took one of the chairs against the wall, and Evans took the seat next to her.

  Reminding everyone of what they’d been discussing, Kelly said, “I’ve been to Vegas a couple times, and it sits almost totally within a valley, virtually surrounded on all sides by mountains. A nuke, depending on its size, and it sounds like we are talking about a big one, could cause maximum destruction there. Maybe our adversaries don’t realize there are less than two million people there. What’s the current population anyway?”

  Jane answered, “The last census was eight years ago, but the current estimated metropolitan population figure is about one point eight million.”

  “Add to that about two hundred thousand visitors on a busy holiday weekend or in conjunction with a championship sporting event and you’re right there! For my money, I’m betting on the gambling mecca of the world. It would be a statement, as well as a devastating attack.”

  Denalli added, “I’m inclined to agree with Mr. Rhamsy on this one.” Turning to Kelly, he continued, “Saleem, the logic is irrefutable. Las Vegas is the prime example of Western decadence. Destruction of Las Vegas would be both a statement and a rallying cry to radical Muslims around the world. It may not be the target, but I wouldn’t discount it.”

  Evans cracked from the back, “Yeah, well, they might blow up a couple dozen Saudi Crown Princes too. That’s how much they hate Vegas.” Everyone chuckled.

  Dr. Bingham joined in, “I concur with my esteemed colleagues, Albrev and Mr. Rhamsy. You have to understand the psyche of Islamic society and their history. Islam was once a great and flourishing society. It aggressively spread during the seventh and eighth centuries, conquering lands both east and west, ultimately spreading from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. Islamic conquerors generally tended to be beneficent rulers, tolerating non-believers but providing an incentive for them to convert by taxing true believers less and providing more opportunities for them. Islam, from the seventh century and all through the Crusades and past, was the flower of civilization. The society was rich, progressive, and tolerant but alas, Islam became a victim of itself.

  “As Western civilization started to advance, technology-wise in the eighteenth, nineteenth and, twentieth centuries, Islam had no response. Technology relegated Islam to Third-world status. One reason for this is because the answers to all worldly problems are supposedly addressed in the Qur’an, and the Qur’an did not mention the marvels of the last couple centuries. Many Islamic theologians reject progress out of hand.”

  “Doctor,” Jane said, wishing to stay on track, “the history lesson is interesting, but could you get to the point?”

  “Yes. As I was saying, Islam is an anachronism, stuck in the glory days of the past, therefore Muslims perceive everything the West has accomplished in the subsequent three or four hundred years to be inspired by the devil. You recall Iran’s Ayatoll
ah Khomeini referring to America as ‘The Great Satan.’

  “The average Muslim takes no credit for good occurrences and accepts no blame or responsibility, even regarding other Muslims, for anything bad. If he or she who achieves something special, through hard work or luck, it was Allah’s will. On the other hand, if something bad happens, it’s because of the devil or his disciples, Israel, America, or the West in general. This has been drummed into them from an early age. Everything happens because of Allah or the anti-Allah. Most Muslims feel as though they are puppets going through the motions, with little or no control over their lives.”

  Jane interrupted once more, “Please, Doctor, do you have a point?”

  “My point is that knowing the way the average, poor, undereducated fanatical Muslim mind works, Las Vegas would be a premium target, as would any symbol of Western accomplishment or decadence.”

  “Thank you, Doctor, I guess we’ll have to reconsider Las Vegas. Saleem, please tell me again what you are supposed to be doing here in London.”

  “Well beautiful, other than demonstrating with you how to cause a rocking motion in the back of your car, I am theoretically managing The Hand of Allah charity. Behind the scenes, I will be coordinating the terrorist attacks. I taped my conversation with Suhar, and here is the translation:

  ‘I do not determine where you will go, Allah does. Allah wishes you to go to London to take over our control center for our battle against the malevolent ones. Once established, an ally will contact you to update you on our planned attacks as well as those of fellow Jihadists. You must enlist recruits and get a bodyguard or two. I know you can’t be killed before your job is finished, but you can be wounded. You will take the video I gave you and release the announcement at the appropriate time to the BBC and Al Jezeera. Each attack is ready to go, but you will have final say as to the timing of the attack.’

  “What I don’t understand is why London? Why not continue to operate out of Riyadh?” Colonel Dickens asked.

  Kelly remarked, “Maybe since The Hand is sponsored by several terrorist organizations, it needed to be somewhere neutral, like London.”

  He turned to Jane. “Jane, who and why did someone e-mail me about the nuclear bomb?”

  “I‘m glad you asked. I was getting to that. The sender, Costa, appears to be one Abu Masauri, believed to be a lieutenant in the Saddam Brigade. He was asking for your help to get the bomb into the United States, so we volunteered you.”

  Kelly was shocked. “What do you mean you volunteered me?”

  “The e-mail was already a few days old. You were unavailable to translate it for us, therefore Jimmy got it translated and answered it on your behalf, in your absence. Didn’t you Jimmy? Tell Saleem what you said.”

  Jimmy looked flustered but said, “I wrote back as instructed.”

  “Yes, of course,” Jane said, “but tell Kelly what you wrote.”

  Jimmy said, “Well, it went something like this: ‘I will be pleased to help, in fact I have lived among the infidels, so I will deliver the weapon myself, as I am eminently qualified for this mission.’”

  “You what? You volunteered me to take an atomic bomb into the United States? What were you thinking, Jane? Did they accept? What about the other eight operations?”

  “Yes!” answered Jane. “I’ll fill you in on the details later.”

  “Who’s going to do my job here?”

  “Well, your second in charge Ali Kaba is going to meet with an accident. When you have to go, you’ll put Rayya in charge. That is if your Islamic background will allow you put a woman in charge.”

  “You know that’s not an issue with me, BOSS. Rayya, you’ll soon be Deputy Administrator. Find some good employees, will you?”

  “Jane, will Haman be going with me? Did you find another bodyguard for Mariam?”

  “Yes and yes. Haman will accompany you. If everything goes well, I will too, though from a distance. Your new bodyguards will be the men who deliver your furniture in the morning. Their names are Mustafa and Ivan.”

  This was good news. “How much will they know?”

  “They’re Company men. They know you and Mariam are very important to the war on terrorism, but that’s it,”

  “They won’t try anything with Mariam will they?”

  Jane replied with a tinge of irony. “Not likely. Ivan is gay, and Mustafa had his masculinity excised by Iranian secret police.”

  “Ouch,” said Evans, and everyone smiled.

  Jane asked me, “How soon is this ally supposed to get in touch with you? How will you know it’s him?”

  “He will approach me to make a contribution and will be recognizable by two rings. That’s all I know. What happens if we have to leave before the ally makes his presence known?”

  “We won’t. You are to notify Masauri when you are ready. If that’s all for now, we’ll meet again in two days, okay?”

  Everybody nodded and Jane said, “That’s it.”

  All left the conference room except Jane. Kelly went to her and said, “Do you really have to be so suggestive among our cohorts?”

  Jane laughed. “I’ll tell you something, Kelly, the more we joke about that, the less anyone will believe we’ve been intimate.”

  “I think of our time together fondly, however, that’s not what I wanted to ask you. You were going to find out if we could bring Mariam on board.”

  “Gee, Kelly, you sure know how to make a girl feel good! I guarantee you I remember our moments in stronger terms than ‘fondly.’”

  Feeling a little chastised, Kelly took her hand and offered. “Jane. I remember our times together and get aroused. I still desire and want you. What man wouldn’t? Thank God for Mariam. I am equally consumed by her, so she keeps my hunger for you at bay.”

  “On second thought, fondly will do fine. Speaking of your lovely wife, I have been given the assignment of finding out where Mariam’s loyalties lie. With your permission, I will set something up. Here’s what I’ve been thinking …”

  Chapter 3

  After a few minutes wait, Mordecai went in to see Ephrem. “Well, what do you have for me?”

  “For starters, I wasn’t the only one following Rhamsy. Second, if Rhamsy is a terrorist he’s doing it with the blessing of the CIA, for he went to a CIA safehouse.”

  Ephrem dipped a single eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

  “A CIA guy I know, Evans, opened the door for him and checked out the street. After Rhamsy was in there about forty minutes, the chick he had a two-hour lunch with showed up. Not bad looking, either. I think she works for the charity.”

  “I’ll have to make some inquiries with Washington. Did you go through the mug shots to find the tail?”

  “Yes, and I found him. His name is Rulan Naser, and he’s a member of Free Arabia, a terrorist group that thinks that they should be made stewards of the great holy mosque in Mecca.”

  “Yes, I know what Free Arabia is, but they want much more than that. They want the heads of all the royal family and a Taliban-style theocracy afterwards. What do you make of all this?”

  “It’s hard to tell. I’ve done a little checking and Rhamsy was suspected of being involved in some terrorist activities for the Sword Of Allah, including the explosion which killed American correspondent Kelly Rogers and injuring Rhamsy, himself. Since he was resuscitated by paramedics, he is reputed to be a Prophet of Allah. Rhamsy is considered a righteous individual who was allowed to come back to Earth to implement Allah’s wishes.”

  “The Americans had him for questioning for almost six weeks, but eventually sent him back to Riyadh. They must feel he was innocent or perhaps they convinced him to work for them. If so, that would be a real coup,” said Mordecai.

  “I wonder if he had anything to do with that recent warning from Washington about a terrorist attack on Tel Aviv? We certainly have a lot more to find out before we consider removing him. I think I shall call the American, Starbird, and ask what he knows. Perhaps I’ll inform the
m of Rhamsy’s shadow.”

  * * * *

  Rulan was upset with himself for losing The Chosen One. Maybe he had given him the slip so easily, because he really was a Chosen One. He would get his chance to find out more tomorrow.

  * * * *

  Mariam was pleased to have Saleem back safe and sound. She knew he was capable of handling himself. After all, he’d been devastating on the mat in college. And now he carried a gun, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get bushwhacked, overpowered or even, God forbid, blown up again. Wow, there I go again, thinking of the creator as God instead of Allah, same entity, different civilizations. If she were to be honest with herself, she would admit that she’d always been more comfortable with Western rather than Eastern civilization.